‘The Final Year’ Review: ‘A Time Capsule Of The Dignity That Was Once In The White House’

The doc on the last year of the Obama administration is in theaters tomorrow.

Many of us are still reminiscing on the good days of the Obama administration. Back when our President was more concerned with policy than tweeting. Back when our President respected the diversity of this country instead of insulting Black and brown immigrants. Back when our President was a humanist and not a racist. If you miss our former President, The Final Year is a must-see.

Directed by Greg Baker, the documentary is a look into the last year of the Obama administration by following his foreign policy team, which includes John Kerry, Samantha Power and Ben Rhodes. We see the challenges they faced from the conflict in Syria to media scrutiny to the 2016 election. Baker pulls together a tight film with funny, lovable and equally serious moments. This is a White House we have never seen.

The first half of the doc is definitely for political junkies and may not be as appealing to the average person who doesn’t worship politics. However, the second half kicks into high gear with the 2016 election. It’s fascinating to see the Obama administration watch Trump run for office and, in the final scenes, their reaction when Hillary Clinton loses. The compassion, shock and fear for their country is sincere and Baker’s execution in capturing these moments was flawless.

The only negative of The Final Year is there wasn’t enough Obama. Clearly, the President was busy in his final year and much of his work is confidential, but it would have been interesting to get a better glimpse of the President. Outside of a couple interviews, Obama’s narrative is missing from the film, which was an obvious void.

There was one powerful moment when Samantha Power, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, strongly disagreed with Obama and Ben Rhodes (Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications and Speechwriting) about how the President discussed foreign policy in a speech. Samantha’s candor was admirable, she didn’t agree and didn’t hold back her critiques. Now we have a President where no one on his team is allowed to disagree — and they even lie for him — like a dictatorship. Times have swiftly changed, which is why it’s was haunting when the doc closed with the classic song “The Times They Are a-Changin’.”

Intimate, revelatory and seriously important, The Final Year is a time capsule of the dignity and grace that was once in The White House.

Continue reading In Honor Of President’s Day, Here Are Photos That Will Make You Miss Barack Obama

In Honor Of President's Day, Here Are Photos That Will Make You Miss Barack Obama

Today is President's Day and we had to take a moment to honor our favorite president -- Barack Obama.
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Obama had many wins while he was president. He brought the Black unemployment rate for African Americans from 16.8 percent, due to the horror of President George W. Bush to 7.8 percent by January 2017. The poverty rate for African Americans fell faster in 2015 than in any year since 1999 -- falling 2.1 percentage points, resulting in 700,000 fewer African Americans in poverty.
Teen pregnancy among Black women was at an historic low with he birth rate per 1,000 African-American teen females fell from 60.4 in 2008 to 34.9 in 2014. Pell Grant funding for HBCU students increased between 2007 and 2014, growing from $523 million to $824 million. Obama banned solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prison in January of 2016, the President of ACLU said about this in 2016, “It’s absolutely huge. We rarely have presidents take notice of prison conditions.” The incarceration rates for Black men and women fell during each year of the Obama Administration and were at their lowest points in over two decades when he left office.
Not to mention, he saved our country from one of the greatest recessions since the Great Depression due to the Republican administration before him -- and now our current president tries to take all the credit.
People are so happy his legacy that the people of Los Angeles were blessed to have President Barack H. Obama Highway as in December. The Mercury News reported, "Two large, green-and-white freeway signs were unveiled Thursday, one on the right shoulder of westbound State Route 134 at the beginning of the 210 Freeway at Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, the other at the eastbound 134 in the vicinity of Route 2 in the city of Los Angeles near Glendale."
The location was chosen because he attended Occidental College in nearby Eagle Rock from 1979-1981 when he lived in Pasadena. State Sen. Anthony Portantino said about the highway, “The president has often mentioned his fond memories of living in Pasadena and attending Occidental College, so it was very appropriate to name the portion of the freeway he traveled after him."
Mercury News confirmed, "No taxpayer dollars were used to build or erect the signs, Bischoff confirmed, adding that the cost of the two signs and labor amounted to about $5,000 and were paid for by private donations."
In honor of President's Day, check out photos of our favorite president.